Hi, so I’m strongly considering Smith but I’m worried about the social justice climate. I’m not straight, and I do feminist activism right now, but the activism at Smith seems kind of… fake? As if the students care more about ideological purity than actually changing the world; they look to change their safe little campus, instead of looking outward. Am I wrong?
My other top choice is Wellesley. However, on my visit it seemed kind of gloomy. I asked my tour guide about fun and she said she goes into Boston a lot. Is there no fun allowed? I want a school with a “work hard, play hard” kind of vibe, not one where I’ll be drowning in papers and never enjoying myself. Help me out please?
Work hard / play hard I usually associate with frat-heavy, football-focused big universities. In that region, I’d look at Syracuse. Further out, Penn State, Ohio, Michigan Wisconsin, Illinois etc.
You’ll find gay people everywhere.
I’ll preface this by saying that I am definitely biased, as a Simmons College student.
However, I know for a fact that Smith is not a trans-friendly environment which really does say a lot about the kind of activism there. That’s all I know about it, though. I can’t comment on Wellesley’s activism because I don’t know much about it, but I do have a couple of friends there who come into Boston relatively often. There is apparently a free bus for students that travels into the city on weekends. Wellesley also has occasional parties, but they’re not like typical college parties - though it’s not hard to get to other schools’ parties in this area if you want to. Both schools are great academically and it really depends on what you define “fun” as.
There are tons of LGB girls at both schools, trust me.
Huh? Care to explain?
hi thanks for the replies everyone! by mentioning my sexuality I didn’t mean I’m looking for queer people – quite the opposite, I am gay but know there are gay people everywhere. I hoped mentioning it would show my questions about the activism aren’t coming from a conservative point of view, but rather a pragmatic one.
Please explain about the anti-trans thing?
@rhiannaps, yes, we are waiting to hear what evidence you have that Smith is not a trans-friendly environment. Most LACs these days are very open and accepting of all people, with women’s colleges among the most accepting, and Smith would be included in there.
Also, you are mistaken: Wellesley does not have a free bus to Cambridge/Boston on the weekends. It costs $3 each way. The bus is only free on weekdays.